After a series of labor, safety and fisheries practice controversies, the New Zealand government announced Tuesday that foreign-flagged fishing boats must be reflagged as New Zealand vessels, bringing them under New Zealand law, if they wanted to operate in New Zealand waters.
The move, to take place over a four-year transition period, would send a clear message that New Zealand was serious about the fair treatment of fishing crews, the safety of vessels and its international reputation for ethical and sustainable fishing practices, Primary Industries Minister David Carter and Labor Minister Kate Wilkinson in a statement.
The announcement followed the release in March of a report by the Ministerial Inquiry into Foreign Charter Vessels (FCVs), which was ordered after widely publicized cases of mainly Indonesian fishing crews jumping ship with claims of unpaid wages and physical abuse when their Korean-owned vessels docked in New Zealand.
“Reflagging will further strengthen compliance with New Zealand laws and provide more transparency around the operation of foreign- owned vessels,” said Carter.
“We are already moving to strengthen monitoring and enforcement of FCVs, including placing an observer on all FCVs fishing in New Zealand waters,” he said in the statement.
“The government continues to welcome foreign charter fishing vessels operating in New Zealand waters, but they must meet our requirements and our standards.”
Wilkinson said the full range of New Zealand law, including employment relations and workplace health and safety law, would automatically apply and be enforceable once the vessels were flagged to New Zealand.
“Reflagging will provide greater protection to the crew as they will be employed by a New Zealand-based party under a New Zealand employment agreement,” she said in the statement.
“If breaches of labor law occur — such as underpayment of wages or illegal deductions or breaches of the Code of Practice — the Department of Labor will be able to investigate them and take action. Maritime New Zealand is responsible for investigating any unsafe workplace practices.”
Foreign crews would be protected during the transition period with stronger monitoring and enforcement, including tougher independent audits of the New Zealand charter parties, safety monitoring on vessels and increased and enhanced on-board observer coverage.
Reflagging would mean that a New Zealand operator would be responsible for hiring crew and the full range of New Zealand law would apply, and the operators would be accountable for the employment of crew and vessel making any enforcement action by agencies more effective.
Under the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention 1982 (UNCLOS) , ships, including fishing vessels, are required to fly the flag of the country in which they are registered.
A foreign-owned fishing vessel flagged to New Zealand would be deemed to be a New Zealand ship and would fall fully under New Zealand sovereignty and therefore be subject to the same legislative and regulatory requirements and enforcement provisions as a domestically owned and flagged vessel.
Ministry for Primary Industries observers, trained in labor law and health and safety law, would be placed on all foreign-owned fishing vessels to take notes and report back to onshore agencies, said the ministers.
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